THE NILGHERRIES. 165 



paces off. I thought it necessary to 

 draw my hunting-knife, and hold it 

 between me and this inquisitive dog, 

 as I did not half like these attentions. 

 I kept the horse at a walk, lest they 

 should fancy he was a beast of the 

 chase, and so we went on for about a 

 hundred yards, to a point where a small 

 stream crossed the track. Here the 

 dogs began lapping the water, and lay 

 down in it, nor did they follow me any 

 further ; probably they never meant to 

 do so, but their familiarity, so different 

 from the habits of wolf or jackal, struck 

 me as very strange. Perhaps some 

 latent instinct attracts them to man, 

 and to those of their own race whom he 

 has made his friends and companions. 

 In speaking of the wild animals 



